OFF THE WIRE
BY: STEVE WARMBIR
Source: suntimes.com
A federal prosecutor on Monday sarcastically suggested a government informant must have used “a Jedi mind trick” to get a man to implicate himself on tape, as the government wrapped up its closing arguments in the trial of reputed Cicero mob boss Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno and four other men.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu worked coolly and methodically to try to dismantle the defense’s arguments in the case and show how “The Large Guy” was in charge of a racketeering conspiracy, which included threatening a competitor, Vince Dublino, who was in the video poker business, and bombing his office.
“He’s the boss,” Bhachu told jurors about Sarno. “He’s the one that threatened Vince Dublino. He’s the one who ordered the bombing.”
Bhachu dismissed a theory by the defense that it was a government informant, Mark Hay, who bombed Dublino’s office, rather than the man who appears to implicate himself on tape, Sam Volpendesto, one of the men on trial for the crime.
At one point, Hay secretly records another man, Kyle Knight, who acknowledges providing the explosives — to Sam Volpendesto, not Hay.
Was Hay “using like a Jedi mind trick on Mr. Knight that day?” the prosecutor asked.
Attorneys for Sarno and his codefendant, reputed high-ranking Outlaw motorcycle gang member Mark Polchan, acknowledged in their closings that their clients may have been involved in some crime, but weren’t part of some criminal group.
Bhachu pointed to several transcripts of secret government recordings to tie the men together in an attempt to persuade the jury to convict them of the more serious crime of racketeering conspiracy.
Bhachu argued that Sarno’s use of four cell phones and his conversations in code showed Sarno knew he was up to no good.
“He’s obviously aware that his phones may be tapped,” Bhachu said.
After receiving the case, the jury briefly deliberated before going home late Monday afternoon.
